UT football notes: Whittaker to start?

AUSTIN — Fozzy Whittaker, perhaps the biggest enigma on the Texas roster during his three years with the Longhorns, might make his return to the starting lineup this week due to the same reason he’s been out of it for so long.

Once again, it comes down to injuries.

This time, though, it’s Whittaker who’s the healthy UT tailback. Coach Mack Brown said Monday that Vondrell McGee (left shoulder) and Tre’ Newton (concussion) are both “day-to-day” after suffering injuries in the Longhorns’ 38-14 victory over Colorado. That leaves Whittaker — the third-year sophomore who has battled a series of nicks, pulls and strains ever since he’s been in Austin — as UT’s likely starting tailback this Saturday against Oklahoma.

Whittaker, a 5-foot-10, 190-pound speedster from Pearland, was slowed this summer by a lingering knee problem and didn’t make his debut until the fourth game of the season against UTEP. Saturday against Colorado, he scored on his only carry of the night, diving over the pylon for a 12-yard touchdown on a play in which Brown said “nothing was there.”

“Nothing” has too often described the UT rushing attack, particularly lately. The Longhorns managed only 46 yards on 25 carries against Colorado. UT will look to Whittaker and Cody Johnson — who’s listed as a co-starter on the depth chart — to change that.

“We’ve got to find our running game,” quarterback Colt McCoy said.

In other tidbits Monday:

Brown and offensive coordinator Greg Davis said UT is looking for more ways to incorporate freshman track star Marquise Goodwin into the game plan. Not only did Goodwin block a punt against the Buffaloes, he also made the key block on Jordan Shipley’s punt return for a touchdown. With the UT receiving corps outside of Shipley and Dan Buckner still struggling to find consistency, Goodwin will have a chance to see balls thrown in his direction.

As well as the UT defense has played so far this season, opponents apparently haven’t seen anything yet. When asked if the Longhorns have shown most of their schemes, linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy laughed.

“Nah,” he said. “We’ve got a big playbook.”

After a slow start in his move to defensive end from linebacker, Sergio Kindle has picked up his statistical production in recent weeks and now has two sacks, four tackles for loss and 16 quarterback pressures. But he’s still not doing enough to satisfy his biggest critic — his father, Johnny Walker.

“I’m about seven behind where he thinks I should be,” Kindle said.

McCoy connected on 32 of 39 passes against Colorado and has completed 73.4 percent of his attempts this season, which would be the third-highest mark in NCAA history (behind McCoy’s record 76.7-percent rate in 2008 and Daunte Culpepper’s 73.6-percent mark in 1998). But there’s still a sense that McCoy is struggling, and Brown said it has to due with expectations.